


One Step Back

by PeacefulPhoenix



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - GTA, Alternate Universe - Grand Theft Auto Setting, Angst, Fake AH Crew, Flashbacks, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Non-lethal Injuries, Not explicitly graphically violent either, POV shifts, Referenced Raywood, but better safe than sorry, but no actual romance, romantic feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-20
Updated: 2016-09-20
Packaged: 2018-08-16 02:38:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8083378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeacefulPhoenix/pseuds/PeacefulPhoenix
Summary: Jeremy's been with the crew for a while now but never have things gone so wrong, so quickly. To top it all off? Ryan got hurt and it's all his fault.





	

_Sand flew into the air as bullets embedded themselves into the beach. One landed just an inch from Jeremy’s foot. And then suddenly, all the sound in the world was replaced by an overwhelming ring. The gun slipped from his fingers as his hands flew up to cover his ears. Ryan grabbed his shoulder and spun him, clutching a machine gun in his free hand. His lips moved like he was yelling something. Jeremy had never been much good at lip reading and he still couldn’t hear anything._

_Finally, through the buzz he could make out what Ryan was saying. “MOVE!” Right. They were still being shot at and standing here was just going to get him killed. Jeremy stuttered a nod then turned and tried to run. It felt like his legs were rubber. If it hadn’t been for Ryan’s hand moving to his back and helping to push him, he had a feeling he would have fallen behind._

_Then an explosion. Bright white light. Heat._

Jeremy’s hands shook, coffee dancing in his mug. He was safe. No one was shooting at him. He was safe. No one was shooting at him.

_He was lying on his back in the sand. The world felt numb. Stars sparkled in the sky. He heard shouting. Michael. The sound of a gun firing. A minigun. More shouting. He didn’t know that voice. A low groan to his left. Ryan. Another explosion. Darkness._

The crew said that he’d been awake when they got away. He couldn’t remember. Ringing still filled his head and he tried in vain to rub it out with a finger. He almost died. Bandages wrapped around his left leg, covering a rather nasty burn just went to prove that. God, it itched so badly. With his right foot he scratched at the injury. It didn’t help.

_Ryan had looked like a corpse spread out on the kitchen island. Angry red burns covered much of his back and right hip. Sand imbedded in his skin glittered in the florescent lights. He wasn’t moving and Geoff and Jack were crowding around him, doing this and that to help. Jeremy could barely see anything._

Looking at the counter now made him sick to his stomach. There was dried blood imbedded in the quartz countertop. Whether from this heist or the last, it was hard to tell. He couldn’t stay here. The shaking got worse, coffee slopping out of the side of the mug to splatter against the floor as he turned to leave. 

Immediately, he found himself facing the living room of the crew’s apartment; facing Ryan. He seemed to be asleep, eyes closed and make-up smeared in places. It had been his fault. Ryan wouldn’t have been hit if Jeremy hadn’t frozen. 

_All Jeremy’s eyes could focus on was Ryan’s lips. They moved wordlessly. They were saying something urgent. Why couldn’t he hear it? Bullets whizzed by without him noticing. All his world became Ryan. And it didn’t help._

But he hadn’t died. He was alive. He was here, safe, and alive.

_Jeremy stood beside the counter, eyes fixed on Ryan. His chest rose and fell. Barely. His arm hung off the edge of the counter. The other was folded over his chest. His mouth hung open. Blood still covered his stomach and face, mostly dried but bright red still shining through the gauze covering his injuries._

Ryan was here. He was safe. He was alive. No one was trying to kill him or Jeremy. They had survived. 

That didn’t stop a shaky breath and a tear spilling onto Jeremy’s cheek. He was always on his game. Always. He was the new guy on the crew and had replaced the legendary Brownman! There wasn’t room for him to fuck up. 

_“Hey, you sure you wanna be drinking that much, buddy?” Geoff asked as he loaded all his ammo into a bag. “We’re leaving soon.”_

_After taking another swig from the whiskey bottle as if to prove a point, Jeremy beamed at him. “Liquid courage, Geoff!” The boss shook his head and mumbled something about how he better still be able to shoot straight but didn’t stop him. It’s not like the others hadn’t done similar before. And hell, Jeremy was one of the crew now. It wasn’t Geoff’s job to babysit him and make sure he wouldn’t fuck up his own job._

“Ryan?” Jeremy’s voice was barely more than a whisper. He got no response. Closing his eyes for a moment and taking a deep breath to gain some courage, he took a few steps forward. “Ryan, are you awake?” 

For a moment, nothing happened. Then Ryan groaned lowly, eyes still closed. When they opened, they found Jeremy’s instantly. “Now I am. What do you want?” Jeremy’s lips opened and closed several times before he gave up, lower lip quivering and eyes wet again. That got Ryan’s attention. He tried to sit up quickly but hissed in pain and stopped, hand going to his injured side. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?” 

Not sure he could handle words just yet, Jeremy shook his head. Nothing new had happened. Just a lot of old stuff. He stood in the middle of the room silently, shoulders curled forward and limbs rigidly held close save for the arm holding up his mug. It just made him look even smaller than normal. 

“Come here.” Ryan grunted out the order and shuffled over on the couch to make space. Jeremy did as he was told but sat as from from Ryan as possible. “No. Come here.” Jeremy moved closer so that their legs bumped into each other now. Instantly, some of his shaking calmed. “Now explain what’s going on.”

He didn’t pressure Jeremy to come up with a quick answer this time and they sat in silence for almost 10 minutes before he got his answer. “I’m sorry,” Jeremy whispered. Ryan cut him off to tell him to speak louder and he tried again. “I’m sorry. It’s my fault you got hurt. And I can’t stop thinking about how we could have died. If we’d been just a few steps back…” He fell silent again and looked away. 

It was a lot for the tired Ryan to take in. And something about it seemed really familiar.

_Ray was curled up on the other end of the couch from Ryan, knees pulled up into his purple hoodie. “I missed. I knew he was going to hurt Michael and I missed the shot. It’s my fault.” It was a statement of fact. Only the slightest hint of anger bit through the words._

_“It’s not,” Ryan replied. Another statement of fact, this one much more emotionless. No point in getting emotional over fact._

_Ray lept from the couch, legs almost not making it out of their cocoon in time. There was a moment before he regained his balance where there was an honest chance he’d fall flat on his face. “It is though! If I’d made the shot, Michael would be here now. Not stuck in some shitty motel, bleeding out!” His chest was puffed out and his shoulders rolled back like he was ready for a fight._

_The moment Ryan rose to meet him, he backed down. “So you’re going to be perfect then?” Ray stayed silent. “Because if you think you can be perfect I don’t want you in this crew. Get out.” Ryan’s eyes seemed to burn holes in Ray’s skin as he sat back down. “That’s what I thought.”_

While the situations may be the same, that approach wouldn’t work with Jeremy. He was soft in comparison. Delicate. So Ryan would have to be gentler. 

“I’m not dead. Grenade didn’t reach us.” Ryan snatched the coffee cup from Jeremy. He didn’t need anything that might make him more jittery. Ryan on the other hand… “We’ll heal and then we can forget about all this.”

Jeremy didn’t seem satisfied. “But I fucked up. Won’t Geoff-” He fell silent as Ryan suddenly lifted up his shirt. “What are you-”

Ryan pointed to a collection of small scars across the right side of his chest. “I was too close to the vault when Michael blew open the door. Shrapnel.” A round scar in his side just to the left of his stomach. “Gavin was making a joke. Thought the gun was unloaded. Shot me by mistake.” He used the shirt to rub away a bit of the make-up decorating his cheek. Just under his eye, running along the cheek bone was another scar. “Geoff and I got into a fist fight while planning a heist. He was wearing some flashy rings.”

Jeremy’s mouth was hanging open as he went through scar after scar. It was almost unbelievable how many he’d gotten from the crew. Some he didn’t mention. Jeremy could only assume they were from police. “I always thought… I mean, you guys were… You were amazing. All the stories of the stuff you pulled off… I didn’t think you guys could fuck up.” It sounded stupid when he actually said it. They were people. And no one was perfect. But there had been a time where he didn’t see them as people. They had been like gods or something. 

“Well believe me. We fuck up all the time. You’ve seen us in our off time. We’re not any different on a job,” Ryan replied dryly. Most of their mistakes they could fix. Most.

_The only thing stopping Ray from walking out the front door was Ryan’s arm. “Move,” he said calming, eyes fixed straight ahead, deliberately not looking at Ryan._

_Despite his best attempts to duck into Ray’s line of sight, Ryan just couldn’t catch his eye. “That’s it? You’re just leaving? Would you even have told anyone if I didn’t happen to show up?” There was no answer. “The silent treatment? Really, Ray? After all we’ve been through?”_

_That was what finally got the sniper’s attention. “After all we’ve been through,” he parroted. “Do you know how many times I’ve almost died for this team? Almost seen my friends die?” He paused as if to let Ryan answer. They both knew he couldn’t. “Exactly. I’m done. Now move.” This time, Ryan didn’t try to stop him from leaving._

“So why do you do it?” Jeremy asked. The question caught Ryan off guard and he didn’t answer right off the bat. “Why put yourself in so much danger all the time?”

It was legitimately a good question. One Ryan wasn’t quite sure he had the answer to. For the rush. To protect the people he’d come to know and love. Because he’d gotten roped into it years ago and he didn’t know how to get out. Because he want to get out. Because his life would be boring otherwise. Because he was good at it. “It’s good money.” Except it wasn’t. And they both knew that. The theatrics required to pull of stunts the Fake AH Crew way cost a lot of money. Most of the spoils went right back into paying those off. They only took home a couple grand at the end of each job. It paid the rent but it was easier to steal what they needed than pay for it most of the time. 

Still, the answer was a clear signal for Jeremy not to press the issue. Unsure what else to say, he fell silent. The awkward kind of silence. The kind where words unsaid hang heavy in the air.

“What about you?” Ryan asked, breaking the silence. “Why do you risk your life?”

Now that it was Jeremy’s turn to answer the question, he realized the answer wasn’t as simple as he thought. They’d been his idols for years. Stories of what they had done had prompted him to get into crime. It had all seemed to glamorous. So he supposed there really was only one answer. “For fun.”

Ryan laughed that deep, rich laugh that seemed to resonate through his chest. “And how’s that going for you?”

“Not very well,” Jeremy admitted, mirroring the laugh. It was brighter than Ryan’s, higher pitch. “I mean, it is fun. But maybe not all fun all the time.” 

_Jeremy hung out the window, grip on the wheel just tight enough to stay on track. “WOOOOO!!” he yelled to the world. “MOTHER FUCKIN’ MONSTER TRUCK!” He fell into the seat again with a thud and a hysterical bout of laughter. Cars swerved out of the way on the highway before him. Behind him, red and blue lights flashed and sirens sounded._

_The police had been on his trail for a while now. Any time they got close, he just drove over them. Michael was shooting him a questioning, almost bemused look from the passenger seat. “Enjoying yourself?” Jeremy didn’t need to answer. He just shot a look and Michael burst into that cackling laughter the crew had come to know him for._

Yeah, there had definitely been some good times. 

He’d stopped trembling almost entirely now and his heartbeat had slowed. Something about sitting here on the couch with the bloodthirsty, by all accounts completely insane Vagabond made him feel safe. No matter how crazy that was, it was true. Even after seeing Ryan at work, Jeremy trusted him. “Could I-” he broke off, suddenly feeling as though he was stepping out of line.

Ryan’s eyes drifted closed again and he laid his head against the back of the couch. “Could you what?”

“Could I just stay here with you for a while?” Jeremy asked, unintentionally holding his breath as he awaited the answer.

Again came that hearty laugh. “Aren’t you already doing just that?”

Well… He wasn’t wrong. “Good point.” Not in a rush to test exactly the bounds of their relationship, Jeremy curled in on himself in the middle of the couch, just barely not touching Ryan. His eyes slid closed and as he began to focus on his breathing, it slowed.

The change in pace prompted Ryan to open an eye a crack to look at him. It was glaringly obvious that he was in quite an uncomfortable position. Without a word, Ryan reached over, wrapped his arm around Jeremy’s shoulder, and pulled him over until he was nestled into Ryan’s side. It’d been a long time since he had anyone close like this. 

_The apartment was completely dark except for the bright white light of Ray’s nintendo. The glare turned his glasses almost completely white like something out of an anime. Of course, it was making sleep very difficult for Ryan._

_“Can’t you make that thing any dimmer?” he grumbled. Attempting to shift his position to turn away but finding it very difficult what with the way Ray was laying on him._

_“Nope,” Ray replied flatly, continuing to play his game without looking up and moving only minimally to adjust to Ryan’s new position. “And no, I’m not moving. You’re too comfortable.” Damn Ray and his apparent ability to read Ryan’s mind. Guess this would just have to be his life now. Somehow, despite the growing headache, he didn’t quite mind._

Jeremy’s eyes went wide and he stared up at Ryan as if waiting for something else to happen. Nothing did. “Are you… You’re okay with this?”

“Wouldn’t have done it if I wasn’t,” Ryan pointed out. Suddenly he realized that Jeremy might be asking for another reason. “Uhm, are you?” Perhaps he should have asked before acting.

After taking a moment to consider it, Jeremy nodded, cheek rubbing against the fabric of Ryan’s shirt. “Yeah, I’m okay with it.” Before long, he was sound asleep, breath completely even and peaceful. 

Ryan wasn’t one to show his emotions, least of not around his crewmates. It was easier to do the job if you acted emotionless about it. That little trick was the secret to how he’d gotten so good, how’d he gotten the reputation that he had. But to say that he actually was emotionless would be a blatant lie. 

He would be here if he wasn’t. Neither would Jeremy and neither would the growing tightness in his own chest.

_The job had gone really wrong, really fast. It should have been a simple one for once. All they had to do was pick up a package by the beach and get the hell out. With the ocean on one side, they should have been relatively safe. Who would be crazy enough to attack by boat?_

_Turns out the safest jobs are actually usually the most deadly. Guard gets let down. People get hurt._

_It wasn’t the people that ran up with shotguns that Ryan worried about. It was the sniper. The sniper aiming right at Jeremy. There were two many guys between them. Unless… Thinking quick, Ryan cooked a grenade before tossing it into the crowd between him and Jeremy. Without waiting for it to explode, he ran forward._

_It was… stupidly risky. And just as expected, that stupidity put the fear of god into the eyes of the rival crew. They dove out of the way, clearing the path. Ryan made it just to the other side of blast radius before it went off. With gun already drawn, he took aim at the sniper and shot, just over the shoulder of Jeremy. That would be great for his ears… But at least he’d be alive. He wasn’t about to lose another crew member._

_But Jeremy wasn’t moving. He seemed paralyzed, stuck in place. Was he trying to get himself killed?! Not waiting to give him the chance, Ryan pushed him forward, towards the crew. They were waving at him from the armored car. The package was already loaded into the trunk. All they had to do was get there and then they were home free._

_The explosion caught him off guard. The world began to ring and his eyes burned white. He couldn’t feel his side. But Jeremy… Was Jeremy okay? As soon as he heard him make some noise confirming he was alive, Ryan stopped fighting the darkness crowding his vision and passed out._

It wasn’t often that Ryan got so violently protective of someone. But the man curled against him, cowboy hat knocked askew and finally looking peaceful, he was worth protecting.

**Author's Note:**

> This was my first time writing Achievement Hunter fanfiction in almost 3 years but when you get an idea, sometimes you just have to run with it. If you enjoyed, please consider leaving a kudos or comment since I practically run on those <3


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